Elections for the 2012-2014 Board will be held at the MWA Annual Meeting, June 23, 2012 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Annapolis Bookstore, 68 Maryland Ave, in Annapolis. The meeting will be hosted by the Annapolis Chapter. The meeting will be open to all current MWA members; members who can’t attend will be allowed to vote electronically between June 15-20 (details forthcoming).
In accordance with its bylaws (PDF), the Maryland Writer’s Association is governed by a Board comprised of Officers, Chairs, two Members-at-Large, and the Presidents of each Chapter. Apart from the Chapter Presidents, Board members and officers serve two-year terms. The Board members elected this June serve from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2014.
Here are the candidates for the 2012-2014 Board:
President: Jim Heimberg
If elected, Jim will make MWA highly responsive to the needs of the members, will encourage chapters to have meaningful presentations, and will ensure the positive enhancement of the relationship between writers, publishers, and literary agents. Jim is a proven communicator of complex ideas who is able to reach audiences using plain-language style and to communicate direction and complex information to stakeholders. Jim held every chapter office of the International Association of Business Communicators in five different chapters most recently as President of the Baltimore chapter. He is a past president of the Maryland chapter of InfraGard.
Vice President: Open
Secretary: Eileen Havvik McIntire
(Bio and position statement unavailable at press time.)
Treasurer: Open
Communications Chair: Steve Berberich
Steve can help publicize MWA writers and their helpful tips from successful authors, and other publishing and marketing information. Steve has made a living writing all his life. MWA is helping him make a transition from news and feature reporting and non-fiction to narrative fiction. Steve has written three novels and some short stories as well as the non-fiction book, The Naked Intruder. As a news reporter, Steve has worked for The Gazette and the Journal in suburban Washington D. C. Other positions include National News Editor for the Agricultural Research Service, USDA; writer/editor, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria (affiliated with the World Bank), senior science writer, National Institutes of Health; and Marketing Communications Director, UM Biotechnology Institute. He is a member of the National Science Writer’s Association and the D.C. Science Writer’s Association.
Publications Co-Chairs: Paul Lagasse and David Joyner
David is current co-chair of publicity in the Annapolis Chapter with Paul Lagasse. He’s been an MWA member for about one year, and written non-fiction (45 published papers and 9 books, 2 as editor or co-editor) but hopes that will not be held against him. Wife, cat and two dogs seem to tolerate him well. As co-chair of Publications, he’d like to foster good working relationships with Maryland publishers and publishing-related firms, review candidates for MWA-related editorial and writing tasks, develop editorial policies and guidelines of MWA publications, and improve public visibility of MWA through its publications.
Paul is a freelance writer/editor. He edits Pen in Hand and its newsblog, Keyboard in Hand. He is the founding president of the Baltimore chapter and a past at-large Board member. As publications co-chair, Paul would like to continue improving the editorial and design quality of Pen in Hand and Keyboard in Hand, help MWA better communicate its initiatives to the membership through our publications, post Board meeting minutes in compliance with nonprofit and grant requirements, help MWA Books develop and implement a sustainable publishing strategy, and support the outreach efforts of the Communications Chair.
Program Chair. Louise Harris
(Bio and position statement unavailable at press time.)
Membership Chair: Bryan England
(Bio and position statement unavailable at press time.)
Conference Chair: Nicole Schultheis
(Bio and position statement unavailable at press time.)
Long Range Planning and Development: John P Dentico
John has been involved in long-range planning for over 30 years, and has developed strategies and plans in different venues and for a number of different organizations. John believes he has the skills to reach out to sponsors and literary organizations, and he is a skilled grant writer. While he has been a member of MWA for only a few months, Howard County Chapter President Louise Harris encouraged him to run for the Long Range Planning and Development Chair because she sees a fit between his experience and MWA’s needs. John has been writing for a long time, and has written a number of documents for government agencies including curricula, guides, and reports. He is currently writing a book on the art and practice of 21st century leadership.
Member-at-Large: Ally Peltier
Ally has served the MWA as Vice President and Member at Large, acting as chapter liaison and helping to solve problems and share resources more efficiently. She’s also served on committees for the writing contests, website, and Baltimore chapter programming; edited and spearheaded promotion of MWA’s first anthology; and acted as MWA Books co-publisher for the second anthology. Her experience in the publishing industry gives her unique insight into what writers need to succeed in today’s publishing environment. She would like to continue helping MWA find ways to better serve our membership by providing opportunities for education, networking, and exposure.
Member-at-Large: Sonia Linebaugh
Sonia is currently MWA Program Chair. She has served MWA as President, Vice President, Pen in Hand Editor, E-News Editor, Writing Contest Coordinator. She helped transition MWA from a single body to a chapter-based organization and served on the committees for by-Laws, website, and writing contests. She writes too: memoir, short stories, poetry, and lately novels. Her development is proof that MWA works. She wants to help the Association work for all its members.
MWA thanks all the candidates for their willingness to volunteer their time and expertise on behalf of the organization and all its members throughout the state!
Keyboard in Hand 